FILM FESTIVAL FOCUSES ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

November 1, 2007

Laramie Boomerang, Wyoming: (1/1012007):Human rights abuses that take place in cultures around the world will be the focus of an Amnesty International event at the University of Wyoming (AIUW) film festival this weekend.
AIUW will show 15 films for the fifth annual Human Rights Film Festival, which will take place Friday and Saturday in the newly remodeled Classroom Building, room 302.
Dan May, group leader of AIUW, said this year’s selection of films focuses on human rights abuses that take place in many areas around the world.
The Human Rights Film Festival will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday with “Untouchables vs. Aryans.” The final film on Friday, “Time of Fear,” will show at 9 p.m. and has a runtime of 60 minutes. May said the film might interest people since Wyoming was once home to a Japanese Interment Camp at Heart Mountain between Powell and Cody.

The Human Rights Film Festival will continue at 1 p.m. on Saturday with “Bought and Sold,” a 42-minute documentary about the illegal trafficking of Russian women from the former Soviet Republics.
One film that covers a subject that is pertinent to current events is “The Oil Factor”.
“The Oil Factor” is the work of Free-Will Productions’ Gerard Ungerman and Audry Brohy, who spent three months in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan to assess the results of the United States military occupation of the region. They attempt to expose the human cost and to examine the larger geo-strategic picture of the wars.
The Human Rights Film Festival will end Saturday at 8:15 p.m. with a showing of “Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion,” which May said he was looking forward to watching.
May said the Human Rights Film Festival has been well received throughout the years, with people constantly telling him how much they enjoyed the films.
He encouraged the entire Laramie community to attend the film festival to learn more about human rights issues.
“Being involved in human rights issues is actually really easy,” he said. “All you have to do is just know about what’s going on. These films are a good way for people to get their foot in the door to at least start to undertand what some of the issues are.”
For more information, contact May at 399-1723 or visit the AIUW Web page at http://www.uwyo.edu/